Friday, September 02, 2011

Travelogue: Australia – After-Thoughts

I have always wished I was more
organized than I am. It's not that things are helter-skelter in my life, my
home, or my work; it's just that occasionally I get these wonderful
inspirations and then either don't have the time or the inclination to act upon
them. Every once-in-a-while I will come across one of these notes and wonder
why I took it. That was not the case this morning at the office.

I've been busily trying to get some
notes together for the trip I took a couple weeks ago to Australia. This called
for organizing all my notes and documenting two weeks of conversations and
making sure that I included examples and suggestions. The happy surprise is
that in going over my notes and looking to make sure my follow-up was as clear
and as concise as possible, I came across a note tucked away into a pocket in
my briefcase that made me smile.

It's simple enough – just seven
words scribbled on the back of a boarding pass, but it brought it all back to
me.

The couple was just ahead of me in
line. I noticed them only in passing as I got myself through the check-in line at
Heathrow. There was nothing special about them, though thinking back, I should
have noticed that they were in the check-in line at the international
departures terminal and between the two of them they had only the one small
carry-on that he was carry-on.

I completed my check in and (feeling
elated at having been bumped up to business class) turned to see them again
kissing at the escalator up to the Security Gates. With a reluctant hug and a
kiss goodbye, she lifted the bag off his shoulder and ascended while he stood
at the barrier waving.

Just as she reached the top she
turned, ducked to look at him through the opening through which the escalator
moved, and called back to him, "Remember: The AmEx Bill Isn't My
Fault!"

He started laughing, so whatever she
meant by that it must have been a private joke. I remember thinking "what
a great line for a blog entry!" and grabbing an old boarding pass and a
pen from my bag once she was out of sight and scribbling the note.

I do not remember what I had planned
on writing around the line, nor – indeed – do I remember forgetting to do it
when I got to Canberra, but a quick search of my blog shows that I didn't ever
write it. But I still got a nice surprise when I came across the note in my
briefcase and it made me smile all over again.

I wonder if they would be smiling to
see their exchange commemorated. I hope so.

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don sees the world

a skewed view of the world from a person who is more than a little skewed himself

Disclaimer

The author is prone to flights of fancy and occasionally has been known to take literary license in his writings. Any departure from the purely factual relating of events should be seen as an artistic choice.

(Besides, "Literary License" just sounds better than "Lying.")

About Me

My name is Don Bergquist and I am an amateur photographer; owner of the website http://www.frostlake.org. Since 1989 I have worked in various positions that allowed me to travel extensively throughout the US, Canada, and more recently Europe and Africa. I originally started my blog (don sees the world) to keep my family abreast of my doings and dealings as I traveled the world, but more recently it has become a collection of my photos, stories, and unrelated rantings as the mood may take me. I hope you will enjoy reading my blog as much as I enjoy shooting and writing for it.

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